A robber held a kitchen knife to the throat of a teenage boy after conning him over a mobile phone deal, a court heard.

Louis Rawlinson, 19, responded to a message on Facebook from the victim who was trying to buy a phone, and the pair arranged to meet up in Bacup.

When the victim arrived to make the deal Rawlinson left the scene, claiming he was going to get the phone from his grandmother’s house.

However, the court heard that when he returned he then brandished a ‘four to five-inch bladed kitchen knife’ and held it to the victim’s throat and demanded money. He received £145 from the victim.

Rawlinson, of Haworth Drive, Bacup, pleaded guilty to robbery at Burnley Crown Court and will be sentenced next month.

Judge Ian Leeming QC ordered a pre-sentence report to be prepared to consider whether Rawlinson should be classed as a ‘dangerous offender’, which would increase his prison sentence.

The court heard how he was previously sent to a young offenders institute in May 2014 for 32 months after the attempted robbery of an off-licence in Accrington where he had threatened the shopkeeper with a 10-inch knife.

Louis Rawlinson

Stephen Parker, prosecuting, told the court: “The defendant accepts in his admissions that this was a con from the outset.

“When he saw the message on Facebook from [the victim] he never had a phone to sell and wanted money as he was desperate for it.

"Money was handed over when the defendant put the knife to the neck of [the victim]. There wasn’t an incision.”

A statement from the victim said: “The incident has left me feeling extremely shaken and frightened. I couldn’t believe it.

Read More

“I genuinely feared for my safety because I was aware of his previous use of knives in the past. I dread to think what he might have done to me if I didn’t hand over the money, which is why I immediately did so.”

The court heard how the victim fled to a nearby working men’s club and was comforted by a stewardess.